The New York Knicks are well aware of Mike D'Antoni's strong desire to coach the Chicago Bulls, as well as Chicago's strong interest in hiring D'Antoni.

They're simply ignoring all that.

NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday that the Knicks continue to regard D'Antoni as their new No. 1 target to replace Isiah Thomas and are preparing a "staggering" financial offer they hope will prove too steep for Chicago to compete with, thus convincing D'Antoni to spurn the Bulls.

It was widely assumed in coaching circles -- and even by the Knicks to some degree -- that New York's involvement was pursued by the D'Antoni camp mostly to get Chicago to increase its offer. But sources close to the situation were stressing Wednesday night that the rough monetary estimates in circulation from the Knicks, believed to be $6 million or more annually, are too substantial not to make them a real threat to the Bulls.Yet sources maintain that Chicago remains D'Antoni's preferred destination and the favorite to land him, now nearly one week since the story emerged that the Phoenix Suns coach and the Bulls were a likely match. It's believed that neither the Bulls nor the Knicks have formally extended a contract proposal, but The Chicago Tribune reported on its Web site Wednesday night that the Bulls are determined to "pay D'Antoni only on their terms" and won't engage in a "protracted price war" with the Knicks.

One source told ESPN.com that the Knicks are likely to move quickly if they can't get D'Antoni by following up with an offer to Mark Jackson or the recently fired Avery Johnson, with Jackson believed to hold a considerable edge given his extended status as the front-runner in New York before D'Antoni became available.

Financial might is clearly the best asset New York can sell as a franchise after two 23-59 records in the past three seasons. New team president Donnie Walsh has not been shy about admitting that the Knicks have only just begun work on an extensive makeover that, based on Walsh's vision, would finally create some salary-cap flexibility for this free-spending franchise entering the summer of 2010, when 2003 draftees LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are scheduled to be free agents.

The chance to work with well-regarded Walsh is another plus point in the Knicks' attempt to beat the Bulls to D'Antoni. Whether that -- along with the money -- is enough of a lure to persuade D'Antoni to revise his Chicago-or-bust stance remains to be seen. Don't forget that the Knicks are unlikely to contend for anything in the near future and would present D'Antoni with an ill-fitting lack of speed and 3-point shooting on a roster headlined by Suns cast-off Stephon Marbury and plodding big men Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph.

Finances, meanwhile, are believed to be the only factor that could cause the Bulls to pull back (or be trumped) now.

ESPN.com reported Tuesday that Bulls general manager John Paxson came away from two interviews with D'Antoni in Phoenix impressed and seriously interested in the coach, who wants to leave the Suns in part because of a tense working relationship with Paxson's good friend, Suns president Steve Kerr. Sources said that Paxson huddled Tuesday with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf to discuss the viability of hiring D'Antoni.

Concerns that D'Antoni's offensive bent would clash with Paxson's philosophy -- which is much more conservative and defensively focused, like that of his pal and Phoenix counterpart Kerr -- appear to have been allayed. Sources say that Reinsdorf himself has voiced an interest in the Bulls' returning to a more defined offensive system like they had in their Michael Jordan/Scottie Pippen/Phil Jackson heyday. D'Antoni obviously doesn't run Jackson's famed triangle offense, but Chicago management is said to be intrigued and excited by the possibility of coupling D'Antoni's creativity with several skilled young players who've been linked to Phoenix in trades in recent years (Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha) as well a budding star (Luol Deng) who was drafted with a pick traded by the Suns to Chicago.

The bigger mystery remains how much Chicago is willing to spend on its next coach, with Reinsdorf already committed to paying Scott Skiles an estimated $4 million next season.

When Skiles was dismissed on Christmas Eve 2007, Reinsdorf agreed to rescind the offset from Skiles' contract and pay him all but $1 million of the remaining $6 million owed. As a result, Skiles walked away with a guaranteed $5 million send-off that was not erased by the estimated $18 million over four years he just received from the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chicago, then, would be spending more than $8 million on head coaches next season if D'Antoni were to receive an annual salary in his current wage bracket. If the Bulls are asked to respond to the Knicks' generosity by taking D'Antoni past the $5 million barrier annually, sources say Chicago could still decide it's more prudent to pursue a more affordable coach with less experience, such as Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau, who is widely credited with providing the schemes that helped Kevin Garnett transform the Celtics' defense this season.

The Tribune reported on its Web site Tuesday night that the Bulls' interest in defense-first Johnson is declining, which could be another indication that the Bulls are focused on landing D'Antoni. The Arizona Republic reported that the Suns would not seek additional compensation when D'Antoni's inevitable departure materializes, simply hoping to relieve themselves of the two seasons left on his Suns deal at $4 million and $4.5 million.

Whoah! What a turn around! Knicks on a spending spree again. Or is it just a ploy to get Chicago to increase their offer? Probably not.

I'd still prefer Tom Thibodeau. If you get to watch the Celtics play, you'll usually see Thibodeau jumping from his seat and giving instructions during play sometimes even overshadowing Doc Rivers, with overly animated gestures. This guy's craving to coach and he'd be great for the Knicks. It'd be hard to apply a run-and-gun offense to the Knicks under D'antoni unless we really get lucky with the right players, which is very very unlikely just looking at the number of players we have to deal and get rid of. Basically, we lack high percentage jump shooters, explosive slashers, and a pass-first point guard. D'antoni is a great coach, but probably not who we need right now. Ewing and Jackson should start off as assistants first.

May 09, 2008, 02:52

JUNIOR MINT

honestly, I would prefer Thibodeau also, but that's only if we're going to rebuild or trade and bring in some pieces that'll help us out, but D'antoni will fit good with the squad we have now, the team we have is built to run n gun IMO, well, maybe not curry but if u go with steph, crawford, q, lee & zach, i can see them runnin n gunnin...

May 09, 2008, 07:54

Kiyaman

What did D'Antoni do to Phoenix that was'nt already started with Marion, Amare, and Joe Johnson? adding Nash to replace Marbury was all the Phoenix Suns needed to do. Marion was the MAN in Phoenix.
Now Coach D'Antoni gets all the credit.

Bringing D'Antoni to New York or Chicago is a foolish move.
The best team inwhich D'Antoni should coach in the East is Detroit.
Detroit players have a great format that he could make better.
D'Antoni will complain about the players on the Knicks and Bulls.

D'Antoni got his Playoff experience from All-Star players Marion, Joe Johnson, Amare, and Nash.
He cant help out the Knicks or Bulls.
Coach Stan Van Gundy would've done a better job coaching the Suns vs Spurs in the first round with Shaq. D' Antoni is not a Bigman coach...

May 09, 2008, 08:06

metrocard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiyaman

What did D'Antoni do to Phoenix that was'nt already started with Marion, Amare, and Joe Johnson? adding Nash to replace Marbury was all the Phoenix Suns needed to do. Marion was the MAN in Phoenix.
Now Coach D'Antoni gets all the credit.

Bringing D'Antoni to New York or Chicago is a foolish move.
The best team inwhich D'Antoni should coach in the East is Detroit.
Detroit players have a great format that he could make better.
D'Antoni will complain about the players on the Knicks and Bulls.

D'Antoni got his Playoff experience from All-Star players Marion, Joe Johnson, Amare, and Nash.
He cant help out the Knicks or Bulls.
Coach Stan Van Gundy would've done a better job coaching the Suns vs Spurs in the first round with Shaq. D' Antoni is not a Bigman coach...

Amare, Diaw, Raja Bell, and Nash(Nash wasn't that dominant in Dallas) all excelled and reached full potential under D'Antoni.

Thats all that matters, getting the best out of your players. We need D'Antoni, his players gain and always confident in his system. It's definitely better than standing around as Curry turns the ball over or doesn't dunk the ball.

Nash's and Amare's numbers wouldn't look so good on another team, in Phoenix they excel at their highest potential.

May 09, 2008, 09:29

dre48ny

He might be using the Knicks to drive up the price for the Bulls. He really wants to coach the Bulls since they have a bigger upside than the current Knicks, but at the end of the day: It's all about the money. The Bulls are prepared to make an offer by Sunday. Very interesting, we'll see what happens.

May 09, 2008, 14:11

donchris

Quote:

Originally Posted by dre48ny

He might be using the Knicks to drive up the price for the Bulls. He really wants to coach the Bulls since they have a bigger upside than the current Knicks, but at the end of the day: It's all about the money. The Bulls are prepared to make an offer by Sunday. Very interesting, we'll see what happens.

Exactly! No big name coach wants any parts of the Knicks. Last I checked the Knicks didn't have a problem scoring. Randolph, Crawford and Robinson score their asses off. Where's the defense coming from. Will hiring D'Antoni make us a better defensive team? It's a moot point cause D'Antoni isn't coming to NY, he's going to Chitown.

May 09, 2008, 14:17

moneyg

i want a coach that will live and die to coach the knicks. d'antoni will only be doin it for the money and ny can easily weigh on him. tom t from boston is my man. we need d. the knicks scored more points a game than houston,plilly,cleveland,san antonio all playoff teams... and gave up less points than g state,denver,phx what does that tell u...:beer:

May 09, 2008, 14:25

MSGKnickz33

Quote:

Originally Posted by donchris

Exactly! No big name coach wants any parts of the Knicks. Last I checked the Knicks didn't have a problem scoring. Randolph, Crawford and Robinson score their asses off. Where's the defense coming from. Will hiring D'Antoni make us a better defensive team? It's a moot point cause D'Antoni isn't coming to NY, he's going to Chitown.

Your probably right but i cant agree with you about the knicks not having scoring problems. Defense is a bigger problem then offense but both are problems in my opinion. We need a coach who will teach both. I think Mark Jackson seems like he would be a good all around coach, but i dont know. We dont know, hes never coached before. Its not easy determining who the best option is.......avery johnson? It sounds like hes going to the suns but i would take him over d'antoni. His voice will bother me though. The thing that worries me with Tom Thibo...d....ea...u....uh...however you spell it, is he too defensive minded? What does he know about offense?

Our best option might be to swagger jack the celtics. Get a good offensive coach and then have a defensive assistant coach. In that case, D'antoni would be a good coach for the knicks.

May 09, 2008, 15:18

datruth

i dont want this guy man, dantoni doesnt emphasize defense and thats what we lack, this guy couldnt get amare stoudamire play defense, a player who has an incredible leaping ability, quick feet and very athletic, i hope dantoni doesnt come over here

May 09, 2008, 18:21

New New York

Mike D is a great coach, but my only reservation is that we do not have the same peices Pheonix has. Now I think Steph stands the best chance at benefiting from him being the coach of NY, Q was apart of his system, and had his best season under him. I think David Lee has the skill set to play in that offense, But my biggest worries are Zach and Eddy, they are both players who slow down offenses, and that is why a lot of people think Shaq didnt do so well with in his offense. If Eddy slims down he will have the athleticism to work with.

With all that said, this is a ploy to get Chicago to match that type of money the Knicks are offering. Chicago makes more sense for D'antoni, and The Knikcs need to just give it to Mark Jackson. Plus they could probably get Mark Jackson for 2 million a season, with a shorter term contract.

If you were Mark Jackson how would you feel about being a teams second choice?

May 09, 2008, 18:27

donchris

What bothers me is the front office doesn't seem to have changed for the Knicks. It's almost like they want to bring in the big name coach to keep selling tickets. Maybe I'm being too hard (no homo) on D'Antoni. He did wonders for the Suns, but again my concern is that he wont have trading flexibility. What will he do with Curry? Every time I see him he's gained 10 lbs, pretty soon he wont be able to run the floor. Marbury may be as good as gone if we get D'Antoni.

Metro raised a good point, Larry Brown was a defense first coach, but Brown didn't coach the Knicks to their strengths. He benched Curry, stopped Crawford from scoring and forced Marbury to be a playmaker. Sounds like a decent plan but the problem was he stopped all of our top scorers from scoring. So we need balance and I think Tibodeau would understand that, but D'Antoni may be the anti-Brown, all offense and no defense. If that happens the end result will be the same as Brown's 23 win season.

May 09, 2008, 18:54

metrocard

Quote:

Originally Posted by datruth

i dont want this guy man, dantoni doesnt emphasize defense and thats what we lack, this guy couldnt get amare stoudamire play defense, a player who has an incredible leaping ability, quick feet and very athletic, i hope dantoni doesnt come over here

Defense is much more than athleticism. Bruce Bowen isn't athletic at all, but possesses the best perimeter man to man defensive skills in the planet.

Keep in mind Raja Bell of D'Antoni's Suns made an all NBA defensive team...he isn't freakishly athletic and was being coached under D'Antoni, that statement alone ****s on your entire paragraph my brother.

D'Antoni is the best coach available.

Defense shouldn't even be a concern right now, its not like Isiah tried to coach defense and we've been one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA in the last 3-4 years.

D'Antoni would coach and teach our young players, give them confidence and make them reach their highest potential. Hopefully D'Antoni can bring his staff over too, Phoneix had a great staff. Look at guys like Barbosa and Diaw who both had miserable rookie seasons, now these guys are legit NBA starters who are very productive under D'Antoni's wings.

I know I may be defending D'Antoni too much now, since no one here really wants him; but acquiring D'Antoni makes sense for us.

In any sport, you first coach OFFENSE before DEFENSE, but offense is harder to learn. Defense just takes a lot of practice and dedication individually.

May 09, 2008, 20:07

MSGKnickz33

Quote:

Originally Posted by metrocard

Defense is much more than athleticism. Bruce Bowen isn't athletic at all, but possesses the best perimeter man to man defensive skills in the planet.

Keep in mind Raja Bell of D'Antoni's Suns made an all NBA defensive team...he isn't freakishly athletic and was being coached under D'Antoni, that statement alone ****s on your entire paragraph my brother.

D'Antoni is the best coach available.

Defense shouldn't even be a concern right now, its not like Isiah tried to coach defense and we've been one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA in the last 3-4 years.

D'Antoni would coach and teach our young players, give them confidence and make them reach their highest potential. Hopefully D'Antoni can bring his staff over too, Phoneix had a great staff. Look at guys like Barbosa and Diaw who both had miserable rookie seasons, now these guys are legit NBA starters who are very productive under D'Antoni's wings.

I know I may be defending D'Antoni too much now, since no one here really wants him; but acquiring D'Antoni makes sense for us.

In any sport, you first coach OFFENSE before DEFENSE, but offense is harder to learn. Defense just takes a lot of practice and dedication individually.

You made good points with raja bell and before when you mentioned that he got the most out of everyone on phoenix. Amare, Marion, all those players grew. Marion and Bell are both good defenders, maybe Amare just doesnt have the defensive mentality. The Suns have not been one of the better teams defensivly but its partially because of the fast pace they play, both teams get more possessions. For some reason I want Mark Jackson as the next coach but i cant come up with a good explanation why so even though alot of people dont want dantoni at least you can come up with good reasons as to why he would be a good coach for us. Defense is about practice, dedication, and communication. I said in another post that if we had an assistant coach to teach defense like the celtics do with the tandem of doc rivers/tommy T then Mike D'antoni would be a good coach for us.

May 09, 2008, 21:33

metrocard

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSGKnickz33

You made good points with raja bell and before when you mentioned that he got the most out of everyone on phoenix. Amare, Marion, all those players grew. Marion and Bell are both good defenders, maybe Amare just doesnt have the defensive mentality. The Suns have not been one of the better teams defensivly but its partially because of the fast pace they play, both teams get more possessions. For some reason I want Mark Jackson as the next coach but i cant come up with a good explanation why so even though alot of people dont want dantoni at least you can come up with good reasons as to why he would be a good coach for us. Defense is about practice, dedication, and communication. I said in another post that if we had an assistant coach to teach defense like the celtics do with the tandem of doc rivers/tommy T then Mike D'antoni would be a good coach for us.

I wouldn't be mad if Jackson was headcoach. I feel he would make a great assistant. The point you made about the Celtics coaching staff is a great point, an assistant who emphasis strictly on defense.

May 09, 2008, 22:00

tiger0330

Not Staggering

The deal is a 5 year 30M deal, thats a bargain compared to Larry Browns 50M 5 year deal. I agree with everyone here, we need a defensive coach first. The Suns were a terrible defensive team given the athletic talent they had. If the Knicks hire D'Antoni he needs to hire a very good asst like Thibs or Elston Turner. Mark Jackson might be good as well, he talks a good defensive game in his broadcasts, wonder if it would translate into results with the Knicks.